Visitor
by Nephren-Ka7
Summary: Eight years after Third Impact Gendo Rokubungi is doing time in the world's most secure prison. But someone is watching out for him...


Eva belongs to Hideaki Anno, his mad, yet brilliant brain, Gainax and probably some other people that I don't know of.

First Evangelion fic by this author, aka me. Bit on the wordy side, okay, massively so, it just came out that way. I came up with it because I always really liked Gendo. I know almost everybody hates the poor guy, admittedly with good reason. Personally I find that it a bit sad that most eva fanfic writers tend to marginalise this complex character. But what is really disappointing in my eyes, is that he is so often made into a completely evil, cliched villain, fond of every sick perversion the writer can think of. I'll have to say that the source material doesn't bear that out. Gendo may be an enourmous dick but he is far from evil incarnate. But of course I rather like manipulative bastards (if only in fiction).

The massive underground prison complex consisted of several enourmous rings, each one smaller than the others in descending order, each floor a smaller grundriss than the one above it, as well is tighter security. At the bottom level, two miles beneath the surface, the most dangerous prisoners in the world were kept, or at least those that people in power wanted to be burried alive forever and forgotten. Every level was connected with the others by a single elevator that could be deactivated at a moments notice, the only connection to the world up there except for the air supply system pumping oxygen into the depts of hell.

Of course, Gendo Rokubungi thought with a fit of Irony, even the fires of damnation need fuel to burn. It wasn't often the case that he reflected about the presence and about the dungeon that had become his whole world, well at least as far as his body was concerned. Those that had sent him here wanted him to stay alive and suffer for a long, long time. Because of this there was no reason to fear that they would shut down the circulation of breathable air. And perhaps, just perhaps, they had not given up the hope that one day he would give up the secrets that he, and he alone, still carried with him, hidden just as deep within his mind as his body was in the bowels of the earth. The white room was free of everything even remotely human and personal, everything, temperature, the degree of moisture in the air and of course the light stayed exactly the same, forever unchanging. There was no possibility of knowing whether it was night or day, summer or winter or to keep of time in any way. Gendo could only suppose that this was supposed to be some kind of torture or punishment. A smile tugged softly at the corners of his mouth. They would have to do far better than that. The little red light of the camera at the ceiling was on but that didn't have to mean that anybody was actually watching him. If indeed there was, he or she had just received a rare treat indeed. Gendo could probably count the occasions on which he had actually smiled on his fingers, not that he bothered to. Had he been someone else than who he was, no doubt nobody would have cared enough to actually pay somebody, or install a expensive computer system, to watch him. But if there was one thing that Gendo knew, it was power and what it did to the people who held it.

True a lot of his old "friends" in high place had probably fallen from grace and those that had managed to protect their hides would not spit on him if he was in fire. But Gendo Rokubungi had known the corridors of power to long and too intimately to seriously doubt that the new persons who had replaced his contacts, would not differ all that much from their predecessors. No, he was still of interest to certain parties and they would continue to watch him for as long as he drew breath. Make yourselves comfortable, he thought, it's going to take a while. Gendo closed his eyes as he lay outstretched on the white mattrass in exactly the same posture as he always did, since the day he had been locked up here. The drugs and beatings that had characterised the the first months (at least he believed it had been month) of his stay here, had long since stopped and he was reasonably sure that several years had gone by since a living human being had entered it's cell. His worn clothes were replaced, his food was brought and the leftovers taken away, the toilet cleaned by service robots, who's white plastic encasement fit perfectly with the furniture. Even the medical examinations that took place from time to time were fully automatised. On these occasions the door of his cells was opened allowing him to go through a short corridor to the examination room where he had to step on a platform to be thoroughly checked by instruments mounted on robotic arms. There were four different doors leading away from the corridor but they were locked, without a chance of departing from the predetermined path, like a physical incarnation of inevitable destiny. Gendo had once tried to open one of them, not because he had intended to flee but because he had been curious if the were really locked or if the unseen wardens relied on the knowledge that it was impossible to reach even the next higher floor, anyway. Somebody with a perverted sense of humor might leave the door open and rely on pure hopelessness to keep the inmates from even trying to flee. But Gendo had doubted that the overseers had that much creativity or a sense for poetic cruelty. When he had grabbed the handle three things had happened, he had gotten an electrical shock, far to weak to be dangerous but still painfull, the door had prooved to be locked indeed, and a a clearly mechanical voice had informed him that nerve gas would be pumped in if he did not follow the way to the examination room marked by green lights. Gendo did not fear death, far from it, and that had been the reason to comply from then on.

He did not want to take the easy way out. Death was not enough as the penance he owed to Yui for ignoring her last wish and for all the other things he had done, the things he had in his madness believed to do for her and that had only been the fruits of his selfish, blind obsession. He owed it to her to drink every drop from the cup of his just punishment and for that he had to stay healthy as long as possible. Death and pain were nothing, the absolute loneliness forced on him was worse but still not enough. Gendo Rokubungi was well aquainted with loneliness after all, loneliness being the constant Begleiter of his life for as he long as he could remember, well except for the short time he had had with Yui. A gift of God that he had never deserved in the first place and had accordingly thrown away and ruined. To think that he had at one time believed that Yui herself was just a means to an end, to satify the limitless ambition that hounded him just as much as loneliness had, one being the shadow of the other, two sides of the same coin. Loosing her had opened his eyes, only when he had lost his greatest treasure he had recognised the extent of his folly. Until then his ambition had perhaps been great but also undirected and hollow. He had persued the plans of the old men mostly out of a scientific curiosity, to see if the fantastic seeming results that Seele believed possible could actually be achieved. But Yui's loss had transformed him from the bottom of his soul up, no longer chasing achievment, scientific marvels and perfection for their own sake, no. He had become a true believer, out of necessity perhaps but just as driven by a single, all transcending goal as the the old men from Seele were. But in what was perhaps divine punishment for his monstrous hubris, karma or just a cruel cosmic joke, his own ambition had made his goals impossible. There would be no reunion with Yui, not even after his natural death. No matter what happened, Gendo knew that true damnation waited for him, the only form of damnation that he had ever feared, eternal seperation from his wife. The only hope left to him was that the theories proofed correct that claimed that individual human souls were indeed not really immortal and could dissolve into complete nothingness with time unless somehow preserved. Nothingness was all that he could look forward to and this place seemed an appropriate one to wait for it.

^So you desire nonexistance.^ the soft voice said in his thoughts. Gendo close his eyes. "You know the answer to that question." he said out loud. "Would it be possible to see Yui again, after this embodied existance ends. Could you bring her to me, if you wanted to." ^No.^ the voice said, Gendo tried to read something out of it's tone, an old habit, but it was incredible difficult these days. ^Not anymore.^ Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a slight tinge of sadness. If so it was no doubt for Yui, not for him. She has every reason in the world to hate me, but non to feel sorry, Gendo thought. But who can truly know how her mind works? "Why do you keep visiting me, Rei? Or would you prefer Lilith?" "Your were once the anchor who tied me to this human existance." she answered monotonously, ignoring the second question. Gendo laughed bitterly, a day with an unusual potential for humor, indeed. "I was your jailor, your torturer." "Yes." the Allmother simply said, this time using a physical voice or at least creating the impression that he heard her with his ears not inside his head. Rei Ayanami had never been a girl of many words, being returned to the quasi divine status that was her true birthright had not changed that. Gendo did not know how and in which form Rei/Lilith exited nowadays, as far as she could be said to exist as a being bound by and "in" time at all. He had never asked her and he was pretty sure that she would not have answered anyway. It was very possible that a normal human mind would not be able to encompass the answer anyway. But one thing he had been sure of ever since Instrumentality had ended as appruptly as it begun (only the beginning and the end of it had feeling like a process at all, everything between just now, without any sense of duration, Instrumentality itself could have taken millions of years from a hypothetical outside or just seconds, it would have been the same from a inside perspective), Lilith was not dead, even if "physical" form she had taken fell apart and dissolved. Lilith was not an ordinary angel, after all. Absurd, applying a word like ordinary to beings like the angels, but compared to Lilith they were just that. The Great Mother was far more powerful than the progeny of Adam, sharing few of their weaknesses and despite the Dead Sea Scrolls calling them coequal seeds of life, Gendo had long suspected that Lilith was in some ways superior even to Adam. And who was to say if Rei didn't still have the power of the Allfather as well. Gendo had spent a lot of his time thinking about these things but the later thought had for some reason not occured to him until now.

"I still possess the fruit of life as well as the fruit of knowledge." Rei confirmed his unspoken question, the fact she could effortlessly read his thoughts was something he had gotten used to since her first visit. It was the second time she had directly told him something about herself. Gendo opened his eyes, swinging his legs over the side of his cod and sitting up. He knew that he didn't have to worry about his strange behaviour showing up on camera, just as the surveillance system would not show the beautiful, pale skinned young woman standing in the far corner of his cell. Rei was just as easily able to let the cameras see what she wanted them to see, the microphones hear what she wanted them to hear, as she was to enter and leave the most heavily secured and guarded prison on earth, that had been the first thing she had informed him about on her own voliation. Gendo smiled for the second time on this day. Only moments ago he had thought about the nature of loneliness, about the path that had lead him to this point and about the fact that the time with Yui had been the only period of his life where he had regularly smiled or laughed. But now he remembered that he had forgotten something important. Feeble and treacherous human mind. "When I am alone here, the only place where I can go is my own mind. In my mind I often visit the past. Mostly I remember the years I had with Yui... and also the time when Shinji was little, before..." He broke of. Reid nodded slowly. "You feel that there is nothing in your future that is worth looking forward to so the only direction left to you is the past." Even before starting to remember her true nature and abilities, even while seemingly unable to connect to her own feelings to the point of appearing to be an empty vessel or mentally handicapped to outsiders, Rei had often been eeriely peceptive when it came to others. Of course Gendo didn't know if it was just a natural knack for reading people that didn't stretch to herself or if it was a shortlived and spontanous flickering of her ability to know pretty much anything that happened on earth if she chose to. Probably a bit of both.

"Yes." he confirmed. "But it is also the time we had together that I remember. I know that I perhaps insult you by saying this, understable enough it would be, but... Weren't there good moments as well, Rei?" Gendo was surprised how desperate he sounded. Yui was lost forever to him, Shinji he would never see again while alive, Rei was the only one among the many that he had hurt that he could still ask for forgiveness. No, not forgiveness, that could never be granted, just tell her that he had indeed lived to feel sorry for his deeds, even if it was to little to late. Rei looked down, her voice filled with just the tiniest hint of pain: "I understand your desire for oblivion, I have known it myself many times." Gendo's heart sank. Though Rei sounded like she was just making a statement of objective fact, not an accusation, his hope started to vanish that there had been anything positive at all for her in their relationship that hat after all lasted in one way or another for fourteen years, plus the hours she had spent here with him in his cell since his return from the sea of LCL and subsequent imprisonment. Rei raised her head, her red eyes surprisingly warm, a tiny smile on her beautiful face. "There have been good moments. I always liked when we had dinner together. And I am grateful that you introduced me to Ikari kun. It was nice to have friends. That is an experience I would have never made without you." During the first month of his incarceration Gendo had often been angry, angry at Rei, angry at Shinji, whose' rejection of Instrumentality had made Gendo's dream impossible, angry at he world he had grown to despise to the point where he wanted to see it destroyed rather than continue to suffer it's mindless cruelty, and of course angry at himself. Oh, he had hidden it well from his captors, behind the usual stoic mask that had served him well for so many years, but on the inside he had been raging. Especially absurd in retrospect was his ill defined jealousy of his own son for the fact that Rei had turned her back on Gendo to answer Shinji's call, at just the moment Gendo had so carefully prepared and conditioned her for. But in time, with nothing but empty time at his hands, the anger against anyone but himself had faded away, leaving behind only the sorrow and regret he had felt at the begining of Instrumentality. So realising that bringing Rei together with his son was the most positve thing he had ever done for her, was not the sting he would have expected beforehand, but something to hold onto. It wasn't much but in a place as dark as the one he found himself in, it was a beacon of hope.

Rei slowly stepped toward the bunk, moving the first time since her arrival, until now standing like a statue, and set down beside the man that had been her father, her teacher, her jailor, her tormentor, who had used her as a disposable tool for his obsessive plans but had also been the first being that had ever shown her affection, as clumsy, flawed and at the same time calculating it had been. Gendo marveled at how much she had changed. Over the years she had been visiting he had at first been surprised that she had not remained the teenage girl he had know her as. Contrary to his expectation she had not stayed the same, instead growing into a stunningly beautiful young woman in her early twenties. Did this mean that she had actually continued to lead a human life in the outside world, a life as Rei Ayanami? Her similarity to Yui was painfully obvious and yet she had a distinct look all hers' and hers' alone. Gendo wasn't entirely sure about the extent of her current abilities but learning that she could freely choose her outward appearance wouldn't surprise him in the slightest. So it would be possible for her to tweak her form to be even more distinct from his lost wife. After all she had quite vehemently insisted on her individuality and uniqueness in the final moments before her transformation and the beginning of Third Impact. "Through you I first experienced pain, loss and loneliness." Gendo winced but Rei was smiling at him. As before she was sensing his thoughts but it wasn't "simple" telepathy. It was something deeper, more profound something perhaps related to a genetic memory that bound all life on earth with it's ultimate origin. "I remember a time when there was no need at all, no desire or lack." Rei continued. Gendo nodded in understanding. She was talking about the memories of Lilith, not those of Rei Ayanami. Lilith was a completely self sufficient being, without any of the needs of mortals, neither for sustenance nor for companionship, even creating a planet's worth of life hadn't dimished her substance. But after the act of creation was done she had withdrawn, letting life grow and develope on it's own, more like a invertabrate spawning innumerable larvae and letting them fend for themselves. Lilith had not much similarty with a human mother in practice. "By becoming Rei Ayanami I experienced loss and the hole that every human being has in her heart from birth and only through this I was also able to experience the joy of finding something to fill this hole." "I guess saying something like "you're welcome" would still be inappropriate." Gendo mused. "Yes." Rei confirmed, a sharp edge under the velvety surface of her voice. The fell into an uncomfortable silence again, uncomfortable on Gendo's part, he was grateful for her being here but besides the guilt she had (to a very limited extent) assuaged, he felt thoroughly helpless.

When she first appeared, after he had accepted that he was not just hallucinating, he had assumed that she had mostly shed the limiting human form, phasing in and out of reality just as she did when coming to him. But the fact that she had grown up and the fact that she was wearing different clothes at each visit (even if they looked rather similar) had made him doubt it. He had never dared to ask, less for fearing she wouldn't answer him but because he didn't want to know to much about what happened out there. It would only serve to lessen his penenance and he didn't want that. Nontheless he wished to hear her voice but he knew that on many visits she just stood there watching him and waiting for him to start the conversation or keep it going. He cleared his voice. "When you first came to me, I thought of about a dozen different reasons for you being here." he confessed. "Perhaps you wanted to punish me." Rei's forhead slightly creased, making her look unbelieveably human. Than answered with a shake of her head: "I don't... punish." Gendo nodded. Lilith was many things, but she was not a vengeful deity. Even when Unit 01's monstrous jaws had borne down on him with crushing force, he had known deep in his heart that it had been his own guilty conscience that had conjured up the horrible mirage, not the wrath of Lilith or Rei's wish to see him suffer. They sat in silence for several moments. Rei had turned indeed turned out to be a beauty, Gendo recognised once more. Her body had grown to be quite curvacious, the simple, yet elegant dress she was wearing hugged it in a way that would turn every straight man's head. Excepting Gendo's though. While he recognised her form as esthitically pleasing in a detached way, he was more interested in the things her look could tell him. After all she had for a while been almost a daugther to him and there were some sins that were unthinkable even for Gendo Ikari. No, the dress and the way she carried herself told him that she had developed a kind of regard for herself and for the impression she made on others, speaking of an integration into human society that she had lacked completely as a teenager. Of course that had been mostly his fault, for cruelly isolating her and keeping her away from the world, keeping her "pure" so that no other human relations could weaken the bond of loyalty tying her to himself. But than, he had always been pretty sure that her stunted emotional life was to a degree inherent to her nature as well. Perhaps that had been self deception as well, nothing but him trying to convince himself that what he did was slightly less despicable than it was, that holding her prisoner and manipulating her was not that horrible since she, because of her only partly human nature, had only partly human needs.

"Ikari kun is thinking about going back to university." she finally said. This was the part of the ritual that never changed. After the initial ice was broken she proceeded to tell him a tiny little bit about what was going on, never any details, only a few crumbs of fact, the only thing she gave him on her own account. She knew that he didn't want to know much, only really basic things like if his son was dead, sick, married or homeless or if there was an acute threat of nuclear war. Rei respected that and Gendo never posed any further question. It was not much more info than what one might get by turning onto a news channel but turn of the sound and watching only the ultra short news flashes flitting through through the picture at the bottom of the screen. "Money is no longer an acute problem, now that he has managed to sell some of his photographies. Perhaps he will be celebrated artist one day. Gendo's face was completely expressionless now while the warmth in Rei's voice grew as she continued her report. Talking about Shinji alway seemed to have this effect on her. It was simply astounding that eight years after awakening to her true self she still showed such human sentiments. But on the other hand, perhaps I am misjudging her. Haven't we all been created in her image? And for Shinji, the boy had never been cut from the right cloth to be a tough businessman or something. But a photographer? Even with all the guilt in the world, Gendo couldn't avoid doubting the wisdom of that carreer path, in a world were every idiot had a digital camera in his cell phone. Careful, to many details, you are getting worked up already, he chided himself. The only important thing is that he is alive and healthy. He will do it his way and probably better than you did. Well, perhaps he won't get as far on the carreer ladder but it's not like your carreer was something to be proud of. And perhaps he really makes a splash as an artist. With an enormous effort in willpower Gendo forced these thoughts to disappear or at least to recede into his subconsciousness, concentrating on the fundamentals again. Rei's next words made short work of his victory again. "You will soon be a grandfather." For several seconds Gendo could do nothing but blink, while Rei watched him intently. What am I to say to this, Gendo thought. Should I break all my Vors tze and ask her to deliver my congratulations to my son who, with good reason, as always, still hates me. No, impossible. I don't know if Shinji knows or cares that I am still alive, if Rei is even really in direct contact with him or just "keeping an eye" and I certainly don't think he knows or should know that she has been visiting me and served as my eyes in the world. Better to remain dead. He cleared his voice again. "I thank you for doing all this." Rei just continued to look at him. Like she was waiting for him to say something, to show a specific reaction. A shadow crossed her features as it did not come. For a short moment Gendo felt like a microbe in a petri dish under a microscope might do. He swallowed.

"Why do you call yourself Rokubungi again?" she asked. Briefly wondering (not for the first time) why she bothered to formulate questions at, but at the same time relieved Gendo answered: "Because it is Yui's name and I am not worthy of carrying it, after so badly disappointing her." After thinking for a second he added: "And Shinji. He will continue to make honor for his mother's name." The name change was something he had decided only for himself, nobody had ever asked him for his name here and there was no way of making it official. But Rei knew and that was enough. Rei brightened up again, a tiny sparkle in her eyes. "You think about Shinji more often. That is... good. Perhaps there is something in your future that you could look forward too." Gendo shook his head. "No. I thank you, Rei, for your undeserved kindness. But this," he raised his arm, waving it at his evironment in an all including gesture. "... is all I can expect." Rei returned to direct and probing eye contact, causing him to wince slightly. "Wanting to punish yourself is just another way of being selfish. Ikari kun has learned that. It's time for you to do the same." Gendo was a bit shocked about the apprupt change. Only a nanosecond ago Rei had smiled at him and no, for the first time in eight years she suddenly seemed to be truely angry, without any warning signs. Never before had he seen her moods change as quickly. She rose to her feet. Gendo resisted the impulse to reach for her hand. "I don't understand, Rei." he said with a deep frown and worry in his voice. "Did I do something to anger you?" "You are doing nothing but wallowing in your misery. Just like Ikari kun did during Third Impact, only worse. You say you want to do penance but sitting here is worthless." "I still don't know what you mean." "I have given you years to reach a point that Ikari kun reached within hours." Rei said accusingly. Gendo could only stare at her open mouthed. The young woman calmed down again as fast as she had grown angry. A deep sadness seemed to replace wrath. Drooping upper eyelids, a slight down turn of the lip corners, her exotically beautiful eyes loosing focus, a nameless pain that seemed to great for the petite body it dwelled in, even if said body was just an avatar. This was the Rei he knew all to well.

"Undoing the hurt you have caused is worth more than all punishing yourself. You care about Shinji, but you care far more about yourself still." She turned away. Gendo jumped to his feet, the need to comfort her overwhelming. It was like the day when the Evangelion prototype had gone berserk. Yes, of course. His grand plan and his wish to use her had been there in the background, as always. But in this one short moment, he had wanted to save Rei Ayanami, her and her alone, not the tool he had spent so many years crafting, the weapon that would bring ultimate victory over the forces of time and death. That brief moment he had allowed himself to see her as a girl that in another life could have been his daughter. "Rei," he said out loud. "Is there something that you want to tell me? Is Shinji in trouble or in any sort of danger?" When she looked at him again, her eyes not those of a normal young woman, or of any mortal being, but those of something infinitely more powerful and ancient, something primal and timeless. It was a bit like staring into the black abyss of space but at the same time something looked back from far, far away, something that contained beauty and wisdom. "You will soon know." Lilith receded and Rei Anyanami was Rei Ayanmi once more. "Rei, even if I wanted to..." he stopped himself. "I do want to help repair the damage I have wrought. But even so. You realise that I have been sentenced to 600 years of prison without parole?" Of course she did, a stupid question. And of course, if push came to shove he still had a few tricks up his sleave, he always did but... "I know you could easily bring me out of here if you wanted, but I would be a hunted man and..." Rei stared at him expressionless but something told him that she was not happy. "Are you sure that this is not just an excuse? What I have taken from you I have returned. You should make use of it." Gendo straightened his back. It really seemed like Rei had come for a very different reason this time, or perhaps it was rather the case that a plan that she had working on for the last eight years was close to fruition and she expected him to follow her scenario. He chuckled. "You are giving me a taste of my own medicine, aren't you Rei?" "Yes." Not and ounce of malice in the girl or the answer. Revenge was already out as reason but that didn't necessarily preclude her from wanting to teach him a lesson, so whatever it was... "Rei. Tell me, are you doing this for Shinji? Is he in immediate danger?" Of course he couldn't force her to tell him but why should she decline to answer? While Rei/Lilith certainly moved in "mysterious ways" sometimes, even from the perspective of an expert psychologist and master manipulator, she was never dishonest. "Not yet. And I always do." she said, answering both parts of his question. He nodded, feeling content with her word. But there was still something else, something that he had wanted to ask for years, that he was already pretty sure of anyway but that demanded confirmation all the same, something that he wasn't sure even she could answer. But on the other hand he was unlikely to ever meet someone more likely to be able to. So he faced his greatest fear to gain clarity. "Will I see Yui again? Someday?" Rei seemed to think deeply about his question before answering. "I don't think so." Just as he had feared. "Will you see again?" Once again the sad little smile graced her lips. "When the universe collapses back in on itself, perhaps." After reflecting for several more seconds she nodded. "It is possible." Fresh energy streamed through Gendo's body. "Would you greet her from me, then?" Rei's smile grew, brighter and less sad. "I will." She got serious again. "You should take your place on the bed again. The cameras will see you in three, two, one..." Gendo had taken his former position by "two". A shrill sound blared from the speaker system that his captors used to transmit their occasional commands.

Gendo didn't move a muscle. "Dr. Ikari, there is a visitor for you." said the mechanical voice. Even the speaker served to deprieve him of human contact, making it impossible to distinguish even the gender of the person calling out to him. Amateurs. Gendo set up straight, just as he had done when Rei appeared, even if it looked for the camera like it he was moving for the first time in hours. This could get interesting indeed. The first "official" visitor in four years. Of course it wasn't a chance happening that Rei had appeared a few minutes before this "guest". Gendo Rokubungi took pride in his ability to smell a scheme from many miles away upwind and this one was making his mouth water. He was really looking forward to it. In sitting up he had seen that Rei was still present, only out of the corner of his eye. For the duration of this visit he would have to be careful to never glance in her direction. Of course neither the cameras nor the visitor himself would be able to see Rei, but it just wouldn't do being captured staring at an empty spot in the corner again and again. He realised the grotesque irony of it: He had hated the world for it's coldness, for it's lies and for it's merciless eagerness to crush the dreams of it's inhabitants. He had hated it enough to want to see it end, to take pleasure in the knowledge that he would be the one to break the curse of mundane exitence forever. And yet his gift for using the world's very rottenness as a tool for his cause, his talent for spinning intrigues had rivaled his considerable scientific accomplishments. The justification he had used for himself had been that he was using this evil to guided the fallen world towards salvation, even if the world did not know and was to far gone to appreciate it. Looking back the enjoyment he had derived from his successful manipulations should have served as a warning that Gendo Ikari wasn't cut out to be the savior he imagined himself to be. Ah well. Perhaps, just perhaps he could use his talents for a truly worthy endavour, without deceiving himself this time.

Gendo knew a lot more than he had ever let on towards his captors about the dungeon he had been thrown in. He had carefully made a show of knowing nothing at all when he first arrived and he kept it up for the following eight years. Neither with words nor with deeds had he demonstrated any knowledge that he couldn't have gathered from watching alone, making a show of trying to explore his immediate surroundings. It was alway good if others thought one a bit dumber than one really was but he knew that he couldn't overdo it, as he already had a standing and well known reputation of being a sneaky bastard. So acting to dumb could quickly raise suspicion. Gendo knew the layouts of the entire complex, those of the individuals levels, he knew the people that had come up with the idea for the maximum security prison, the political shennigans that had led to the authorisation of the project, the arguments of those that had been against building it, the command structure of the personal, quite a bit about the security systems and the training wardens, technician, medical personal and others received, about the prisoners that had already been "stored" here, about many of the individuals actually in charge on the ground, at least those that had been in charge eight years ago, down to their personal habits and vices, in short about the entire modus operandi and many things that were going on backstage. That had been the knowledge that he had already had when he was brougth here. It wasn't like he had thought about getting out of here, well he had but only as a way to exercise his brain. Gendo Ikari was just a man who liked two know one or two things about the place he would probably spend the rest of his life.

The elevator door opened and two persons stepped out. Both of them men according to their steps. The human personal almost never actually came down here, letting service robots do most of the work down here in the deepest circle of hell. Only on a handfull of occasions technicians came for Wartungsarbeiten, how often they came, where and what the were working on, how long they took allowed for some deductions about the technology and about which companies had produced what, leading to further conclusions. Guards showed there faces a bit more often, or rather the helmets that obscured their faces, but probably still less often than in any other prison in the civilised world. The new arrivals came down the corridor, passing the other four cells, containing two international terrorists, one of them doing mercenary work, the other the leader of an apocalyptic cult that had tried to finish of in the old fashioned way (with biological and chemical weapons) what Gendo himself and his colleauges from Seele had started, a especially vicious serial killer and feared, former warlord that had been resposible for the slaughter of more than four million people in the brutal chaos that had engulfed the world after Second Impact. Though he wasn't proud of it at all, Gendo had to admit that all four of them were small fish compared to the scale of destruction he himself had been responsible for. Gendo's cell was situated at the end of the corridor, long enough for him to recognise the steps of a guard he had already created a profile for in his mind. The guards weren't supposed to talk to prisoners more than absolutely necessar, they never showed their face or allowed inmates to hear their unscrambled voices, making it hard to listen for an accent. But most people just weren't that clever or disciplined, especially in a installation close of from the rest of civilisation. Few could withstand the temptation to give up more about themselves than they intended or realised, especially to people they thought powerless and under their control. It hadn't taken Gendo long to get this particular guard's province and city of origin, a bit about his favorite sports and other hobbys, the fact that he held a special grudge againts Gendo and that this grudge dated back to Second Impact and the loss of both parents and a sister, in all probability older than the surviving brother, which in turn meant that he knew Gendo had been (correctly) accused of being responsible for Second Impact, something low ranking personal wasn't supposed to know, meaning that there was some leakage of more than top secret information. Just a mental exercise of course, even a Ikari, gifted with a special talent for moping, couldn't mope all the time. The guard opened the door without hesitation. Of course he knew that Gendo Ikari had a certain "reputation" but that he hadn't been known as being violent since his university days and secondly the cameras and the comm in his helmet showed him that Gendo was sitting relaxed on his bunk. The guard held his automatic weapon (completely unnecessary overkill as far as Gendo was concerned) lazily pointed in Gendo's direction as he stepped in followed by the true visitor.

The man was in his early to mid thirties, of middle or northern european descent, probably german. He was approxmimately 185 centimeters tall, weighing about 80 kilograms, with slicked back, ashblond hair, a hawlike nose, green eyes, a businessman, regularly doing sport but not a real athlete, no military experience, judging from his body language from a family long used to wealth, power and privilege. Of course this wasn't entire fair, as Gendo had met this man once, when he had been a teenager. "Ten minutes! Not a second longer." the guard barked, rather unprofessionally. The young man frowned slightly, as the guard bellowed directly next to his ear, than he politely thanked the overseer and waited until the guard had evcuated the room to take his place on the other side of the door. If there was one thing Gendo really missed it was a desk and a chair, to be able to Abst tzen his elbows on the desk. Ah well, for the moment Gendo Ikari would have to do without his trademark "Gendo pose". "I would offer you a chair." he said politely. "But unfortunately..." He vaguely gestured at the empty room. Empty except for Rei still standing in the corner, that was. "That won't be necessary, Dr. Ikari." the young man said, smiling brightly and showing two rows of perfect teeth. "I had to sit for hours on my way here and our business won't take much time." He spoke excellent, grammatically perfect japanese, with a german accent that couldn't be overheard but did nothing lessen his overall command of the language. If he had to guess, Gendo would place the accent to the german state of NordRhein-Westphalen. "Well," Gendo said, arching one or his browes. "What can I do for you, Mr. ...?" The visitor chuckled. "Sorry, I forgot that I have a certain advantage in this regard. But the truth is we already met once, even if it was many years ago and I little more than a boy." "Really? I can't seem to remember." Gendo lied smoothly. "But of course I have many friends and associates in Germany." "Indeed. There is small wonder that you don't remember me, Dr. Ikari, though I'm certain you remember my grandfather well." the young man nodded. "My name is Peter Kiel, Dr. Ikari, and I know you were closely aquainted with my grandfather, Lorenz Kiel." Gendo's eyes widened in faked recognition. "Of course! Now I remember. You were having piano lessons while some of my colleauges and I had been invited as guests to your grandfather's estate." Kiel's smile broadened. "I knew you would remember, Dr. Ikari. But as much as I would like to reminiscense, our time is short and we have to get to business. I don't know how will you are informed about what is happening out there in the world..." "To say very little would be an overstatement." Gendo said. This time it wasn't even really a lie. Kiel gave him an understanding nod.

"Of course, I can't even imagine how dreadful it must have been here for a brilliant and accomplished man such as yourself. And that is the reason for me being here. Dr. Ikari, frankly, your are needed out there." He looked Gendo directly into the eyes and the later nodded for him to continue. "To cut to the heart of the matter, Dr. Ikari, for the last eight years I have been trying to buy the Eva series and everything, every little morsel of data and machinery connected to it. And I can say with some pride that I have made great strides toward that goal. In other words, your work will be continued, as part of a private, commercial program. Your unsurpassed genius and expertise would be appreciated and richly rewarded." Gendo had to use all his discipline and acting skill to keep from laughing out loud. "To what goal, if I may ask." Now it was Kiel who gave a performance, playing the shocked one. "But Dr. Ikari, surely a man like you must be aware of the limitless commercial potential of the technology he himself developed. Of course we will give it another name, something less likely to act as a provocation for somebodies' religious sentiments. But then... The military applications alone are worth an unimaginable fortune and that is only the tip of the iceberg." "I'm sure. But the "technology" was never intended for commercial use. Or for military use against humans." Kiel turned deadly serious. His jovial smile disappeared and his eyes turned cold. A man less used to far more terryfying opponenets would have gotten nervous. "Let me speak freely, Doctor. I know full well that what you had there was no normal piece of technology and I know that you didn't really invent it at all, only reverse engineering something you only barely understood. The truth is, you never got past scratching at the surface. But even that scratching allowed you to defeat a horde of immensely powerful and bizarre monsters and even somehow, God alone knows how, to turn the entirety of the human race into orange juice for a time. I do take something like that very seriously. I was partial to enough top secret commissions and hearings to know that you, my grandfather and his associates, the crazy old coots, did this to create some sort of utopia. And while I somehow managed to come back, having no idea how, finding myself in the disgusting yellow soup, with thankfully no memory what happened before, my grandfather and his associates didn't, perhaps because they were to ashamed for having come up such an undescribably stupid scheme." He threw up his hands in a melodramatic gesture of disgust. "And were does that leave me and my family, Dr. Ikari. From one of the richest and most influential families on the european continent and indeed in all the world to, well, a lot less richer. All because my grandfather, der verr ckte Zausel, tried to fullfill some kind of crazy crypto religious mania of his and kill everyone on earth, including his own family. Lorenz Kiel was a brilliant businessman once, did you know that, Dr. Ikari?" "I heard so." Gendo said dryly.

Kiel sat down on the cot. Raw hatred was burning in his eyes, almost making his voice crack. "My grandfather's madness has cost my family a fortune. The UN and various national governments froze our accounts around the world, enteigneten almost half of our companies and that is not even everything. There was an avalanch of court cases, as I'm sure you can imagine, all because of this crazy assed secterian stuff my Opa was up to. When I was a boy, I heard whispers here and there, that he was part of some kind of secret, fraternal order or something but I never believed it was something more than a brotherhood of funny hats for rich, old geezers that didn't know what to do with their time and money. Well, I was wrong. But I will get back every single nickle and dime and much more. For the last five years I have fought an up hill battle to restore my family's fortune and good name, to make our company once again the most successful private military contractor in the world. And against all odds I won this battle. Now there remains only one thing to do, to milk the technology that almost ruined us for everything it's worth. And let me tell you, it's worth a lot." Kiel had a dreamy expression on his face, as if he could already see the mountains of money waiting for him. "So, that were we stand, Dr. Ikari. I am not a grudge bearing man by nature. Help me build my own commercial EVA series and I get you out of here. I have connections and frankly, unaccountable, money wasting government agencies have had center stage long enough since Second Impact. The pendulum is striking out towards the private sector and free markets again, the UN is crumbling and very soon dozens of countries will break down my door to get their hands on their own evas for their national militaries. Just think about it, a multipolar arms race, rising tenisons, paranoia about supra national governmental institutions of all kinds. I don't throw around superlatives carelessly, but you'll have to agree to what I said about the potential of limitless profits." He eagerly looked at Gendo, who returned his gaze with a perfect stone face. Kiel waited for an answer, clearly growing ever more impatient. "My dear friend." Gendo finally said. "You seem to have a problem understanding the concept of utopianism, if you think I would ever be interested in helping you. And, frankly, if you really had any chance of achieving what you talked about and than actually did it, you would be no less insane than your grandfather and I were, and if you allow me to say this, in a way that is decidedly more banal. In your own best interest, and out of respect for your "loss", I give you this advice: Find another venue for making profit, one that will go a far greater distance in restoring your family's good name."

Kiel jumped to his feet, looking like he wanted to attack Gendo and strangle him with his bare hands. Which would make a interesting headline, were the public ever allowed to know about it. "You are not in a position to treat me with condescension, Dr. Ikari. You think I wouldn't be able to pull it off? As I said, things are no longer what they were in your days. Government programms are privatised left and right, people are laid off en masse, including former Nerv personal seeking employment in the private sector. Several of your former staff are already on my payroll. And as far as your moral hypocracy is concerned, in the end my work makes the world saver than it was under the strangling grasp of Nerv. At least the nations that can afford my evas won't be at the mercy of a single institution anymore." "Whatever helps you get through the night, Mr. Kiel." Gendo said. He was almost a bit disappointed. Peter Kiel was obviously a fool and a boring one at that. But he was determind enough to not be easily discounted and he had no doubt something up his sleeve, something he believed to be an ace. The raging fire in Kiel's eyes died down, replaced by a cool calculating look. "I can understand and respect that you aren't exactly overjoyed at the prospect of helping me. My grandfather no longer had any tolerance for a simple businessman's striving for mundane success as well. That's the problem of communication between visionaries and realists. Well, perhaps there is somethings else that could motivate you to rethink." And now the other shoe dropps, Gendo thought. Predictable through and through. "I'll admit I have problems understanding what motivates men like yourself or my grandfather, Dr. Ikari." Kiel continued, opening his brief case. "Playing the system masterfully yet believing yourself to be somehow above and beyond it, snearing in contempt at a man like me, even when it's you who is in prison for trying to destroy the world." Gendo allowed a well calculated sigh to escape his throat. "I don't know how you got the impression I was sneering at you, Mr. Kiel. The simple fact of the matter is, I know today that what I did years ago was wrong and I'm not interested in further burdening my conscience. My belief that is would be possible to turn this world into heaven may have been vane and foolish but that doesn't mean I want to see it going to hell."

Kiel chuckled. "Hell is a bit extreme, don't you think? But it's true that there is not all that money to be made in nirvana. Ah, here it is." Kiel pulled a file out of the briefcase, opening it. "In the months after Third Impact when everyone was still reeling from the surreal shock they had been dealt, not even talking about the many who simply stayed gone, somebody took the liberty to remove the S2 Engines from the carcasses of the massproduced eva series. Quite alot of equipment from Nerv Central disappeared into thin air and important data was deleted, the Magi Supercomputers of Tokyo 3 destroyed. The so called "Lance of Longinus" is missing as well, at least the original one." An almost unperceptible undercurrent of disappointment colored Kiel's voice. Ah, so he has one of the inferior copies Seele used already in his possession, Gendo thought. "Some thought that this were simply effects of Third Impact but others suspected foul play by human hands. As more and more people came back and authorities started doing their work again, you, Dr. Ikari, briefly became the most hunted man on earth, despite nobody even knowing if you were alive or not, something that remained a matter of much speculation until your reappeared on your own accord to give yourself up to the UN. You then were put before court where you proceeded to plead guilty on all charges, taking complete responsibilty for what happened, managing even to make your old second in command and partner in crime, Kohzo Fuyutzuki, look like an innocent dupe." He arched one brow his voice dripping with irony as he continued. "Since then you have been incarcerated here and the only reason you weren't executed is that everybody suspected you of knowing where the S2 Engines and other stuff had ended up. Of course others suspect the Japanese Government, the United Nations or other national governments of having them hidden away. Though only a small part of results of the investigations into the causes of Third Impact were ever made available to the public," his voice turned cold and bitter, "it became known that billionaire philantropist Lorenz Kiel, chairman of the UN's own Human Instrumentality Comittee and several of his associates were also implicated in the artificial triggering of Third Impact. This in turn lead to the confiscation of the private wealth of most known members of the secret brotherhood known as Seele, money that was used to create a multinational non profit foundation charged with repairing the damage done by both Second and Third Impact. It might interest you that several former Nerv employees work there these days, among them a certain Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. If I'm not completely wrong she was one of your closest associates." Risuko. He had thought about her as sometimes, perhaps not as often as was appropriate in the face of what he had done to her, speculating about the possibility of her surviving thanks to Instrumentality. It seemed that the fulfillment of the scenario had undone at least one of his many crimes.

"Anyway, this foundation not only engaged in scientific research for the good of humanity it also supported peopel around the world financially that had in various way suffered from Third Impact, including children who's parents did not come back. Among the many recipients of financial aid were the young pilots of the Evangelion series. Asuka Langley Sohryu, Rei Ayanami and ... Shinji Ikari. There was a lot of hostility towards the children at first but mostly they were seen as victims of your machinations and many still regarded them as heroes, remembering the horrible threat of the angels all to well." "Why are you telling me this, Mr. Kiel?" Gendo asked, fully well knowing the answer. Kiel shook his head and clicked his tongue in a show of mock disappointment. "You really are a cold fish, Dr. Ikari. I may not be an overly emotional person myself and even have a reputation of ruthlessness in the business world, but I certainly would want to hear about my son after so many years of isolation. But of course you already abandoned him once and later pressured him into risking his life in battle against those monsters, so perhaps you really don't give a damn." Kiel intently watched for a reaction, to no awail. "Damn! You must have been a demon at the poker table. So, where was I? Ah yes, the children. Seems like your regret for your actions doesn't stretch to what you put them through but in case you are at all interested, I have a complete dossier about each of them here." Kiel leafed lazily through the file, it was clear that it didn't really interest him at all. "Not all that much interesting stuff but I can leave it here if you want it." He closed the file and offered it to Gendo. The former supreme commander of Nerv didn't move a muscle. Kiel sighed exeperatedly. "I talked to the relevant people and it' okay for you to keep it. The prison administration did a thorough check to make sure there is nothing that can be used as a weapon or something, including the soft, hundred percent cut free paper." "No, thank you." Gendo said calmly, the left corner of his mouth moving slightly upwards. The angry spark in Kiel's eyes returned. "Well, I don't giver a rat's ass if you are a stone cold bastard or a fanatic who doesn't care about individuals, including your son, at all but I can tell you this, the offer I made you is something that will never repeat itself. This is the last chance you will ever get to leave this place behind and have any influence, for good or bad, on the world. Your last chance to actually make a difference and your last chance of ever meeting your son again. Of course you apparently never asked for him and he never made a request about you as well." A spiteful grin split Kiel's face. He closed the file with a sharp snap. For someone who had claimed to be not a grudge holding person, he sure relished making the man he blamed for the loss money and standing suffer, even if he was hurting his own chance at success. Or rather he relished his attempt but the recognition began to dawn on him that he was really biting on granite with Gendo. The later fact started to frustrate him to no end. "I have no use for it, thank you." Gendo repeated his earlier rejection. Kiel opened his mouth for some further derogatary remark then thought better of it.

"Well, I will be in Japan for a week on business. My negotiations with the Japanese Government about aquirering the remains of the mass produced Evas are going well as well as the red one that was piloted by that young countrywoman of mine. By the time of my departure I fully expect to have them in my possession. And before I leave I will visit you one last time, Dr. Ikari." He stepped closer, holding the file with between thumb, index- and middle finger, dropping it on the cott like it was some disgusting piece of refuse that he was throwing to the trash. Gendo sighed internally, leaving his perfect poker face intact. He wasn't sure what was more annoying about young Mr. Kiel, his almost infantile pettiness or the fact that it was so easy to see through him. "Perhaps you will think again. Both about the dossier and about my proposal. Just perhaps you are after all interested in the fact that your son is in the process of starting a family? A reasonably intelligent young man but his carreer choices are not the wisest and handling money doesn't seem to be one of his strengths. According to the information gathered by my investigators he and his wife have run up quite a lot of debts since reaching maturity and no longer receiving assitance from the foundation. They were getting by okay but now, with a child underway? Nobody knows better than you that it's a cold world out there, Dr. Ikari, and it has gotten colder in the last few years." Kiel sais with a smirk. "Mr. Kiel, are you making threats against my son? Do you really want to stoop so low?" Gendo inquired slowly. Kiel huffed. "Don't make a fool of yourself. As I said, I'm a businessman, not a mobster. On the contrary, I could help your son. All to many struggling small businesses going under." "Big business is seldomly in the business of helping small business from my experience but if you want to do some good deeds of your own, who am I to stop you. If you have a proposal concerning his future, I suggest you talk with my son directly." Gendo said h flich, while standing up and offering the dossier back to Kiel who refused to take it, staring daggers at the older man. "I am not allowed to have a watch in here, Mr. Kiel but I think our time is over. Guard!"

"As you wish, Dr. Ikari. But remember, my offer remains standing for one week." Kiel sneered, turning to the door that was opened with humming and clicking sound. The guard stepped in, again holding his weapon vaguely in Gendo's direction, without pointing it directly at him, as if he expected the prisoner to rush the door any moment or attack the visitor at the last possible second. Gendo carelessly dropped the file to the ground as Kiel looked at him one last time. "You are still a healthy man in his best years, Dr. Ikari. You could spend several more decades here in this... hole. Perhaps you'll think about if this is really what you want. And after all the conditions of your stay could worsen at any time." Gendo raised his left eye browe, while the guard nodded eagerly. "Really? Do you have any creative propsals for that as well?" Kiel laughed. "Not right away. But the beauty of being rich, Dr. Ikari, is that I can pay somebody to be creative for me. Until next week than." With these words the visitor disappeared, the guard staring at Gendo for one more moment before withdrawing as well. No doubt there was a ugly sneer hiding behind the helmet's viser and the desire for the opportunity to use his weapon on his hated prisoner. Gendo wasted no further thoughts, as the door clicked shut he had already forgotten the imbecile guard. He returned to his bunk and stretched out on it, in the same pose as before. In the act of lying down he got a glance at Rei, still unmoving in her corner. He was pretty sure that she had not moved a single digit all throughout the last ten minutes, probably not even blinked.

Despite appearances to the contrary, there was a certain degree of turmoil in Gendo's mind and he hoped that Rei would sense it and be merciful to him one last time for today. ^You can speak now.^ he heard her voice in his tumultous thoughts, having an immediate calming effect on him. "Thank you, Rei." Sure that she had taken care of the cameras as well he sat up again. "Is he threat to Shinji you implied?" Rei didn't answer at first. Gendo snorted derisively. "He is a fool." Rei nodded slowly. "His mind contains the same abyss that is part of every human and he tries to fill it's emptiness with unlimited material possessions. He will fail." No surprise there. "Well," Gendo murmered. "he is an idiot and he is certainly unscrupoluse but I think he is generally telling the truth when he says that he isn't violent." Rei nodded again, her wrinkled nose and the slight crease beween her slender browes conveyed a sense of confusion. Gendo found her to be positively adorable. "Despite having no hesitation about profiting from violence and death, he fears it and wants to hold it at a distance from himself. But he is desperate as well." Just as Gendo had suspected. While making a show of his arrogant confidence, young Mr. Kiel had probably invested to much, to early into his dream of using Nerv's and Seele's technology to make a giant buck. The future of his fortune depending on success he could very well become ready to violate his moral code, dubious and hypocritical as it was. And of course it couldn't be denied that Gendo Ikari bore the brunt of the responsibility if Kiel and others like him found a possibility of using Eva for military purposes. Of course nobody who knew him could mistake Gendo Ikari for a particularly caring person, even the dream of abolishing pain and death by uniting the souls of humanity into a unitary, elemental, timeless being had been driven more by his ego and of course by his equally selfish desire to see Yui again, not by any truly deep and selfless concern for his fellow human beings. But the thought of armies around the world, perhaps even warlords and terrorists, using Eva to terrorise the globe and slaughter helpless people, caused an icy shudder to flow through his body.

He reached for the file that was still lying where he had dropped it. As he opened it his hands shook. There was a picture of Shinji, according to the date written above it, it had been shot only only two weeks ago, apparently from a parked car, just as one might expect from a private investigator. Shinji was shown from behind but the shop window before which he was standing was showing his mirror image in great detail. He was obviously Gendo's son, except for the beard he was so similar to what Gendo had looked at his age, it was almost shocking. Well, there were other differences as well. Gendo had been a bit more athletic at twenty two, trying to buff up to compensate with arrogant, rougish and occasionally violent behavior for his own deep seated insecurity. But while Shinji was skinny he looked healthy nontheless, his eyes sparkling in a way that Gendo had never seen before. A smile was splitting his face and he looked at his companion with a mixture of affection, humor and pride. His lips were moving as he was saying something. Gendo felt the mattrass shift as Rei for the second time on this day sat down beside him. She tugged a strain of hair that had fallen over her eyes behind her ear as she looked intently at the picture. She was wearing her hair long now, flowing over her shoulders and back like a blue waterfall with a bit of silvery tinge. "So they really are together." Gendo mused. "Yes." Rei confirmed. "Ikari kun and the Second Child have been romantically engaged ever since Third Impact and the married at the age of eighteen. Until now they seem to be happy, even if pilot Sohryo still makes life hard for him." Gendo pricked up his ears. There was a hint of pain and perhaps, no, definitely, of jealousy.

Strange how things come together. While Shinji had been obviously smitten with the half german spitfire, if Gendo had been a betting man he would have surmised that his son's just as obvious feelings for Rei would turn out stronger in the end. But of course he had not "wasted" his time with such idle speculations at the time, and according to his scenario, to question was supposed to become mute anyway. While he had known that Shinji shared his life with a woman, Gendo had never asked Rei for details and she had not been forthcoming. On some level, with Rei talking about Shinji with obvious affection, he had suspected that she herself was this woman but at the same time she had left it open with great narraive skill, so that she could just as well talk about a different person. The Second Child had been an obvious alternative but Gendo had had his doubts if his son would be able to go the distance with her. Their personalities clashed too strongly and Gendo wouldn't be surprised if the outgoing and adventerous Asuka found his son simply to boring to bother with him. Sure, she had shown affection for him and jealosy when Shinji turned his attention towards Rei but that is what happens when a bunch of teenagers are forced into constant, close contact with each other. So while Rei seemed to still "carry a torch" for Shinji years later, even if her human side was more dominant than Gendo had expected, she still wasn't a normal girl after and Shinji had been her first real human contact, something that obviously hadn't been the case for Asuka who had had other admirers before. In the end it was rather foolish to expect a true relationship lasting into adulthood to develope from such a circumstance and so Gendo had finally decided that Shinji's lifepartner was probably some girl that Gendo had never heard of. He had been content to leave it at that but from the looks of it he had been wrong.

On the photo Asuka was pointing enthusiastically at something on the other side of the glass but it was impossible to see what it was, not that Gendo was interested in such details. On the backside of the paper the picture was glued too, a second picture showed what happened next, obviously taken seconds after the first. Asuka was sverving around appruply, her red mane flying, and she was punshing Shinji's side, an angry expression on her face. Shinji winced but managed to retain the adoring and loving look on his face at the same time. There relationship really had not changed that much except for the swell of Asuka's body, that could only just have have started showing. The other strange thing was that the young woman was wearing uniform. Gendo had never taken interest in the german girl, there was no point of connection between them and in contrast to Shinji and Rei she had never had played a substantial role in his scenario. Her presence was a necessity, she herself nothing but a filler, waiting until she could replaced by the dummy system. While Gendo regretted his monstrous callousness in general now, the german girl still didn't play a real role in his thoughts. Now that he knew her to be his daughter in law, he took the time to quickly leaf through her dossier. Asuka Langley Sohryu had been very passionate about piloting, one of the few facts that stuck in his memory, according to Kiel's investigations she had returned to the european airforce and had started training to be a pilot, this time for planes and helicopters, the next best thing after the Eva series was history. She had managed to become a highly sought after test pilot, officially being statitioned in Japan as part of the international exchange program of the United Nations Armed Forces but in practice she was mostly lent to the private sector, in a new private-public partnership venture where private airospace corporations, both military contractors and civilian companies, borrowed highly trained military pilots for testing their new aircraft prototypes. This job earned Asuka enough money to keep herself and Shinji above the water when he had been struggling. Gendo sighed softly. No, his son really wasn't the type that pulled of a meteoric rise to the top of the world. But Rei herself had said that they were happy. Rei. The fact that their was a dossier about her at all, even if it seemed to be shorter than the others, was proof that his suspicions were right. She had indeed continued to live out a mortal existance despite there being nothing that forced her to do this. Well, he would study it, or rather a copy, in detail as soon as he was out of here. Gendo closed the file, carefully putting it in the exact place he had taken it from.

"I guess you could easily protect Shinji from everything somebody like Peter Kiel could come up with." Rei had risen again, for the last time, she did not need to tell Gendo for him to know that their time was running out. "I could but my strenght is waning. Lilith is returning to sleep, and I will be only Rei Ayanami again." She smiled, the prospect didn't seem to phase her. "I am content to be Rei." she answerd his unspoken question in the positive. "But Peter Kiel is not the only reason why Ikari kun is in danger and why Gendo Rokubungi will be needed." The smell of deeper mysteries intrigued Gendo. Not that he needed any more convincing. Yui, perhaps you will forgive me for using your name for a while longer, when it is done in service to a cause you could be proud of. Gendo layed back onto the mattrass, still warm at the place where Rei had been sitting. He smile again, this time there was nothing sardonic or calculating about it. "So be it." he said to nobody in particular, not even to Rei. He closed his eyes. "Rei, I know I shouldn't ask your for anything but could you..." He allowed the rest of the sentence to linger, it still was enourmously difficult for him make any kind of request of her, but he didn't believe she would deny hime, not when it concerned Shinji and his intentions were for once pure. "I will," she said seriously. "But only this once." "I wouldn't expect anything else." He felt a warm pressure on his wrist, whe had put her hand on his arm. "You are a better man than you think." she told him, her voice little more than whisper. When he opened his eyes again, she was gone. See you out there, with a bit of luck, he thought. Gendo Ikari turned his head, looking up at the ceiling camera.

"I wish to talk to Norman McAllister from the office of the Secretary General." he said nonchalantly, knowing full well that he would be heard and his next words be taken very seriously. McAllister was a certain risk, but it was worth trying. The man had served under four different Secretery General's and he had not been closely allied with Gendo and Seele. At the same time he was an administrative genius and the chances of him surving the shake ups following Third Impact and Gendo's own trial intact were high. Even if temporarily demoted he had by now almost certainly risen to the top again. And he, as well as the current Secretary General, would lick all of his fingers for what Gendo had to offer them. "Tell him, Gendo Ikari wants to talk about the Lance of Longinus." Better not using up all of his munition in one go. "But he has to come personally to see me. Oh, and tell him that he has to bring Kozoh Fuyutzuki as well, if anything is supposed to get of the ground." These simple words would start an uphill avalanche. Gendo closed his eyes again. What I have taken from you, I have given back. There was only one way to interpret Rei's words. The blockade that had hidden the knowledge of what he had done to protect the world from the dangerous potential of the S2 Engine and the original Lance of Longinus, his first and most important act of penance, was lifted. Even while talking to Kiel he had felt the burried knowledge stirring. Rei/Lilith had been the first thing to meet his eyes after returning from the sea of LCL and they had made a deal there and then. The ghostlike, translucent Rei appariation would make him forget the secret of the artifacts hiding place, as soon as he had taken care of everything that would allow those with the will and the resources to recreate the work that he and Seele had done. Gendo had known that this was necessary and he had also known what would await him as soon as he gave himself up to the authorities.

But while Gendo Ikari could correctly be called many unflattering and horrible things, the one things he had never been and never would be was a coward. At least not in the sense of someone trying to escape physical pain or the consequences of his own actions. Fleeing from having to come to terms with loss was another form of cowardice, he supposed. Gendo had learned many different mental techniques to withstand inhanced interrogation and even outright torture, he had trained himself to be able to forget something on command, even drugs would work only in doses that were to high for his interrogators to risk using. After all, dead he was worthless to them. But the most advanced brain scanning techniques could not be beaten by human skill, that he knew without a doubt as he had had a hand in developing them, well mostly the Akagis, mother and daughter as well as other scientists in Nerv's employ. What human skill couldn't do, Rei/Lilith could and so the brainscans had not shown what they were supposed to reveal. That had been the last that Gendo had seen of Rei and the last he had ever expected to see from her until she had returne two years later, visiting him form the first time, not ghostlike at all but as a figure of flesh and blood, except for the cameras. Irony of ironies. No doubt many top experts had in vain wrecked their brains trying to figure out how the former Nerv commander had beaten the unbeatable odds. With deep satisfaction Gendo felt the damm break, the trickle of knowledge turning into a raging current. Of course a new brain scan would reveal his secrets but since nobody had ever suspected Lilith's involvement and the Powers That Be were generally set in their way it was unlikely that they would try. No, they would simply assume that whatever had allowed him to fool them for all those years was still in place. For now all he could do was wait.

Peter Kiel was close to exploding with anger. "Fuck. Damn them all to hell." he cursed, hitting the expensive leather of his limousine's back seat with his fist. The last day had not exactly gone as he had wanted them to go, to the contrary. The Japanese Government had almost overnight become far more picky about who it wanted to do business with, informing them that the had already sold the remains of the massproduced Evas in there possession to another bidder, but refusing him to tell who it was. Which was especially frustrating as Kiel had been pretty sure that he had been in fact the only interested party, and he was normally very good at being informed about all of his rivals. Young Shinji Ikari had found a mysterious solution for all his financial problems, well it wasn't that mysterious in and off itself, but the shear volume of well paying jobs he had landed in a single weak was certainly supicious. The bank that had been ready to sell Ikari junior's debt obligation to Kiel had just yesterday filed for bancruptcy, all obligations bought up by a mysterious hedge fund that nobody seemed to know anything about. As a consequence of the failed transaction with the japanese government several other important contracts were in danger of failing and his own creditors were getting increasingly nervous. On top of that he had just been informed that Gendo Ikari had died, apparently by his own hands, severing his only connection to the Lance of Longinus, the S2 Engines and the much sought after Eva Unit 01, it too lost since Third Impact. Ikari's body had been quickly cremated and the ashes strewn into the sea near the prison complex. At least that was what the new director had told him, the old one having apparently been removed from his duties for undisclosed reasons. That was another thing that made Kiel nervous, as he had made an agreement with the former warden that the later no longer was in a position to fulfill. And insisting on it would only mean more questions getting asked. Kiel massaged his sleaves, feeling a major head ache coming his way. No, it was better to wait until everything had been forgotten. Still, not all was lost. The remains of Eva 02 would be delivered to him today and then there was the mass produced eva unit he had bought from the chinese, on who's territory it had crashed and that was still waiting for him, frozen and securely stored at his facility in back home in Germany. The bizarre organic technology had to be handled with care, especially when the living machine was simply put, dead as a doornail, as was the case with the remains of the MPE. There was still some life left in Unit 02 apparently, this would make it far easier for his tech boys to reconstruct the whole, damn thing. Kiel relaxed somewhat, deeply breathing like he had learned to in a yoga course for stressed out managers. The so called "Hope Foundation for a New Beginning" would also run into trouble sooner or later. This non profit giant had been a thorn in his and many other commercial industrialists' side for years now, helping to set up a network of successful cooperatives and "Benefit Corporations" that were gaining influence, spewing propaganda about economic democracy and some such rot, to the chargrin of hard working businessmen everywhere. And over a span of three days they had hired no less than five former Nerv employees that had already expressed interest in joining his company.

Well, the freaks at the foundation would run out of money, sooner or later, he had already been making plans with several of his colleauges from europe, the US and Japan for giving them a little nudge here and there. The Hope foundation would be run out of business and the former Nerv people, including Dr. Ritsuko Akagi would be begging him to give them a job opportunity. "Sir, we are there." his driver informed him. Kiel nodded in satisfaction. The car drove onto the grounds of the small private airfield where the heavily damaged but still salvageable Unit 02 would be put on board of the cargo plane flying it straight to Germany. Both plane and the massive truck carrying the Evanglion, or rather the thankfully compact remains, were already waiting for him. The personal had been informed that he wanted to have one final look at his price before it's final journey began. As the driver opened the door for him, Kiel was already giddy with excitement. Against all odds he had done it! Very soon he would blaze the trail for the introduction of a new generation of weapons systems that would make everything seen until now obsolete, a weapons system that would sell like sliced bread. To make the world a saver place for the good guys of course. As soon as one country was rumored to producing it's own evas the avanlanche would speak and it would be to late for the pebbles to vote. One of the technicians he had ordered here to inspect the merchandise greeting him and trudged beside him as he neared the truck, struggling agains the impulse to run. The militaries of the worls had long thought the Eva series to be a joke, a impractical toy, especially because of the fact that they were prone to running out of juice after a few minutes, and the beserking thing was problematic as well. But the massproduced Evas that his grandfather had been responsible for had already avoided most of this problems and the entire world had seen the footage of Unit 02 making short work of everything the JSSDF could throw at it, so things had changed quite a bit. Everbody would be ridden with fear of falling behind because of an Eva-gap. The hatch of the giant truck opened and Kiel climbed onto the load area. There was his baby in all his bright red glory! "Fiat lux!" he ordered with a triumphant smile. The lights were turned on and his technicians started to swarm over the broken monstrosity. Kiel streched out his arms wide, raising his chin with a deep sniff, savoring the moment and the smell of victory. One of the technicians came up to hime, his face pale, nervously fidgeting with his hands. "Sir, slight problem here." Kiel's visage darkened. "What problem." "The eva sir, well he is not here." "What do you mean, he is not here?" Kiel thundered. "Well, sir, organic components, those that compose the Eva proper, it seems the have been dissolved completely." "Nonsense." Kiel hissed. He had personally supervised the process of first putting the metal casing back together around the slowly regenerating body and then loading the whole thing into the truck. Government officials, both from the japanese government and from the UN had been present, the JSSDF corps of engineers doing the hard work and advising him to keep the temperture at close to zero degrees, which he had done. Good, he had taken a different root, to pay his final visit to Ikari, but it was impossible for anything to have been manipulated.

Angrily dismissing the technician he started to climb onto the twisted metal structure that had once been the fearsome giant, looking into the gaping hole that had been ripped by one of the longinus lances. "That's all that remains." another technician said. "A hollow metal casing and some left over LCL." Kiel looked at the technician and the yellow liquid in equal disgust. "Bullshit. Dead Evas don't dissolve into LCL, I talked with every living expert and nobody ever mentioned something like this. They rot and that's that." The technician shrugged. "Normally yes. But Sir, I have to remind you that we never got past scratching at the surface concerning the Evangelions. Even those building them never came close to really understanding them or what the limits of their abilities were." Kiel kicked against the massive armor plate, wincing in pain. "Get me the secretery of defense on the phone."

Three hours and several shouting duels with government officials later, Kiel was once again in the back of his car, once again fuming. Of course the japanese government claimed to know nothing about the whole debacle, denying his allegations of somehow switching his freight or giving him a dissolvable fake in the first place as absurd. The only person who could perhaps answer the question, the truck driver had disappeared from the face of the earth, which wasn't that surprising. The man had more than one reason for hiding from the consequences of today's fiasco. But Kiel still had a lot of influence and the japanese government had not interest in stop doing business with his company. Finally they had relented and offered him to give him his money back, they even offered considerable extra sum and lucrative future contracts to calm him down. While that was better than nothing, he didn't want a refund, he wanted the Evangelion. "Driver, bring me to my hotel." he ordered. "As you wish, Sir." He had decided to stay here in Japan until he had found the truth. These people would pay for trying to sabotage him. He was disinterestedly watching the japanese news as a police siren cut into his thoughts. "What the hell is going on!" "The police, Sir. They are ordering us to stop." "No way. Ignore them. I'll handle this with one call." The number of the ministry of interior was already in the Kurzwahl register, and Kiel was in the mood for making some stupid japanese policeman's life a living hell, anyway. Unfortunately fucking technology had a way of kicking up trouble at the most inopportune times. "Damn cellphone." Kiel grumbled. "Sir, I will loose my chauffeur's license if we don't stop." the driver whined. "See if I care!" Kiel snapped. The siren got louder and louder and the driver came to the conclusion that his passanger wasn't worth the trouble and pulled to the side. A car door was opened and steps came up to the limousine. But instead of going up the drivers' window, the policeman knocked on the window of the passanger area, which was unusual to say the least. For the first time Peter Kiel felt a twinge of fear. What if somebody wanted to murder him? Trying to keep his voice from shaking he called: "What do you want?" "You seem to need a new cell phone, sir." a deep voice answered. The blood in Kiel's veins froze. "Driver, start the engine." he hissed. "But Sir, the police..." "I don't think that's the police." The driver swallowed nervously. Unsure of what to do he looked back at his passenger, his face pale like a corpse. "Sir,..." "Start the fucking car!" Kiel screeched. Paniced the driver tried to do just that but nothing happend. The engine was dead. The deep voice spoke up again. "I'm afraid your car won't start until you have your new phone, sir." Not seeing any way out, and the car not being bullet proofed, Kiel lowered the window with shaking hands, just a little bit. Something was pushed through the Spalt and fell on his lap. Kiel almost jumped out of his skin. "Good day, Sir." the voice said good naturedly. The steps receded, a car door was shut and the other vehicle started and drove away.

His heart still racing, Kiel stared at the object on his lap. He wanted nothing more than throw it out of the window but he dared not to touch it. After all, it could be a bomb, even if it looked like a ordinary cell phone. As it started to ring Kiel felt like his heart would stop beating for a second. Apparently he had no other choice. Reluctantly he pressed the device to his ear. "Yes? Who's there?" He couldn't stop his voice from shaking. "Mr. Kiel, I suggest you change the channel on your flat screen to N-TV." Kiel could only open and close his mouth like a fish out of water, and as he found his voice again it was anger that gave him new strength. "Ikari, I should have known that hell would spit you out again. So I have you to blame for everything that has gone wrong over the last few days. Really impressive when one thinks of the fact that you were a prisoner with a life sentence four days ago. You really are a son of bitch." Kiel was still afraid, very much so but his burning hatred for this insufferable man temporarily trumped even his sense of self preservation. Gendo ignored his pityful outbreak, his tone at the same time businesslike and relaxed. "A life sentence ends when the life of the prisoner does, Mr. Kiel. Speaking of that, you will find it diffcult to blame a dead man for your misfortune." "You somehow exchanged the Eva remains." Kiel accused. "I have no idea how you did it, but you did. And your were behind everything else as well." "I can't dissuade you from your paranoia, Mr. Kiel, but I can advise you again to change your priorities. I heard you managed to catch yourself a lucrative contract or two today, that should be more than compensation enough for a project that would have only caused you more pain in the long run." Gendo said calmly. "Your threats and thuggish methods don't impress me, Ikari." Kiel claimed though the shaking still in his voice told otherwise. "When the world finds out that you are still alive and out of prison..." "You will get a lot of trouble." Gendo said. Kiel wanted to protest but Gendo didn't give him the chance. "After all you were filmed trying to get me to join your operation, promising to use your political influence to get me out of prison to help you with starting a new arms race with weapons of devastating power. And on top of that you offere a substantial sum to the corrupt warden of the same prison for deleting the footage of your visit. Unfortunately for you there was a little malfunction when he tried to do just that, shortly afterwards his carreer came to a well deserved end. Everything you will try to stick on me will fall back on you and of course that was by far not your own illegal act. But getting Gendo Ikari out of prison is the most scandalouse one in the eyes of the global public I presume." Kiel's fingers closed around the phone like he wanted to crush it. "That's blackmail." "No, Mr. Kiel, it is mutually assured destruction. As a friend of arms races you should be well aquainted with the concept. I would expect there to be a charge of conspiracy against peace in for you as well, a capital offense according to International Law as enforced by the UN, together with an dozen other charges. Especially if your problems in Germany get investigated closer." Kiel remembered what Gendo had first told him. Frantically hes searched for the remote control and zapped to the german news channel.

"Die Beh rden k nnen noch nicht genau sagen wie es zum Entweichen der belriechended Gaswolke kommen konnte die die halbe Stadt mit ihrem unertr glichen Gestank berzogen hat, aber es scheint sich um einen Fall von unsachgem er Lagerung von gro en Mengen organischer Abf lle zu handel. Immerhin ist nun auch offiziel best tigt dass es sich bei dem Gel nde um eine Imobilie im Besitz des bekannted Industriellen Peter Kiel handelt. Jutta Hinzesberger, die Sprecherin des Gesundheitsministerims, teilte mit dass die Ermittlungen zwar erst am Anfang stehen aber schon jetzt stehe fest dass von dem Gas keine Bedrohung f r Leib und Leben der Anwohner ausgeht. Das Ausstr men des Gases sei zwar eine schwerwiegende Unannehmlichkeit aber keine Gefahr. Herr Kiel konnte noch nicht für eine Stellungnahme erreicht werden. Sprecher des Unternehmens die von unserem Reporter..." Kiel turned of the TV. The ugly headache was itself felt again. He propped up his head with his hand. "For now there is only a minor scandal, nothing a man like your can't handle. But should the german authorities find out that the rotting biological refuse that your people carelessly forgot the keep frozen is actually the remains of of a mass produced Eva that your illegally bought from the chinese government, in violation of the international moratorium on the Eva technology declare by the major nations of the world, I would not want to be in your skin. Because of incompetent handling the Eva is worthless of course but it could still get nasty. I almost have to thank you by the way. I know you intended to convince the UN to lift the ban earlier than after the planned twenty years, but you were a bit to hasty. Had you waited until your efforts bore fruit before starting to aquire the tech, it could have worked. If what you did gets out, I'm sure the moratorium will be prolonged. Still, it doesn't need to get that ugly, but if you insist on it, please remeber that your deed were crimes against international law, including your illegal activities in an UN operated prison. In other words no government will protect you. You are probably surprised to hear this, but there are quite a lot of politicians around the world who really want to keep the peace, and are not in favor of weapons of mass destruction." Kiel started to loose himself in a delicious fantasy about cutting out Gendo's heart. "I'll get you for this, Ikari. Don't know how yet, but I will get you." he swore but even in his own eyes it sounded impotent. As much as it irked him to admit it even to himself, he had found his master. "You are welcome to try, Mr. Kiel, but I have one final piece of advice for you. If you feel the need for revenge, limit it to my person. For if you should even think about taking your wrath out at my son or anyone close to him, the authorities will be the least of your problems." Something about Gendo's voice killed any desire to talk back in Kiel. He knew well what Ikari was capable of. "You can keep the phone." Gendo said then the connection was broken. At the same second the engine started humming again. "Unbelieveable." The driver mumbled. "I didn't even touch the key." As he got no answer he turned back towards his passenger. "To the hotel, sir?" "No." Kiel said tiredly. "Take me to the airport. I have had enough of this country."

Gendo carefully put the cell phone into his breast pocket, then straigthening the ID card identifying him with his new name and position as special advisor to the secretary general of the United Nations as well as UN liaison to the Hope Foundation. Kozoh Fuyutzuki who was sitting at the opposite side of the desk in Gendo's new office, chuckled softly. "I probably shouldn't say it, but it's good to have you back." "Thank you." Gendo said, giving an almost inperceptible nodd to his old friend and mentor. "Has the package arrived?" "Just a few minutes ago." Fuyutzuki said with a sly smile, pusing a small box towards his friend, former student and ,once again, superior. Gendo opened and after shortly examining the content, gave a satisfied nodd. He put on the pair of darkened glasses, than he steepled his hands, fingers interlocking at the level of his mouth and chin. Fuyutzuki suppressed another smile and a comment on the fact that Gendo had specially requested glasses without the anti-glare coating that was the norm for most lenses these days. Kubrick stare in place, the classic Gendo pose was perfected and as usual intimidating as hell. Even Fuyutzuki himself who knew Gendo better than any other person ever had, with the possible exception of Yui, was not completely unaffected. "I still can't believe that you lead the UN people to the hidden S2 Engines only to set them up to self destruct anyway. Of course I primarily can't believe that they actually let you get away with it." he said with honest admiration. "With the remaining S2 Engines destroyed and every piece of date deleted from Nerv's and Seele's computer there are only a handful of scientists left that know at least fragments of how the S2 Engines worked. Even if all of them worked together it would take many years for to recreate the work, if it turned out to be possible at all." Fuyutzuki nodded. "And of course the UN had to admit that you were best suited to head just such a program, they got together with the different national governments and allowed you to gather all the remaining scientists under one roof and put them to work." "Yes. The UN came to the conclusion that it was the best choice to keep this "technology" under wrapps for the time being, at least for the next twenty years, to keep it out of the hands of rouge regimes and other irresponsible actors, until possibilities for save and peaceful use have been determind that can shared with humanity. And that will be one of our duties here, old friend. In the end the UN officials weren't really all that offended by the destruction of the engines." Fuyutzuki rose to his feet, while Gendo leaned back in his chair, reflecting on how smoothly every part of the puzzle had fit together.

"The Americans were especially easy to convince, as long as we do the practical work and testing in some remote place. They remember the catastrophic failur of Unit 04 vividly and prefer for the S2 Engine to make a comeback only after vigorous and careful study, if at all." "And the fact that your are still the only person in the world that knows where and how to retrieve originals Lance of Longinus is certainly usefull as well." Fuyutzuki smirked. "But you alway knew better than play all your cards at the same time." The older man had alway respected his ex students brilliance and he had shared his goals, even if the methods to reach them had filled his heart with a deep pain. This didn't change the fact that Kozoh deeply cared about Gendo, even though he had once, many years ago, been more than a little jealous that Gendo Rokubungi, undisciplined, unpredictable, violence prone lowlife that Kozoh had seen in him at the time, had so effortlessly captured the heart of highly gifted, passionate and strong willed Yui Ikari. But in time a strong bond had developed between the two men, a bond that had deepened after Yui's tragic loss. And now, after Yui had disappeared a second and final time to spend eternity and longer in complete loneliness, as the undying witness to humanity's genius and folly, he felt more responsable than ever. Fuyutzuki had took make lots of amends himself, and he'd be damned if he didn't hold Ikari's feet to the fire. "Well, despite pulling off this stunt and the beyond top secret status, I hope you don't forget that this new research organisation of yours is not Nerv. Even if the public gets only crumbs for now, there is going to be some serious parliamentary oversight, both on the level of the UN world parliament and on the level of the US Congress, as well as the legislatures of all other participating countries from the EU to India." Gendo stood as well and slowly walked over to the panorama window allowing him to look out over the city of Detroit, Michigan. "Don't worry, old friend, I have learned from my mistakes." Gendo assured him. Fuyutzuki watched him for several long moments before nodding. "I hope so. Well, I have work to do."

Gendo watched the retreating back of his colleauge in mirror image on the window, than he concentrated on the city below again. Detroit was not exactly the kind of town were the headquarter of his new organisation would be expected, all the better. The building had once belonged to an american car company, long since bankrupt. Well, perhaps they could do their share to give the inhabitants new alternatives. Gendo had studied the work of the Hope Foundation in considerable detail. Their striving to revitalise communities and entire countries and economies wrecked by wars, climate change, epidemics and economic crises during the last twenty three years held a lot of promise. Perhaps he would be able to steer the UN into giving them more support. In any case measures would have to be taken that Peter Kiel and others who were interested in seeing it fail wouldn't bring it to it's knees with some underhanded means. If the foundations work was a success, the UN would be reformed, some of it's functions decentralised while trying to avoid falling back into the chaos of nationalist struggles between rival powers, building a global civil society instead, built on free cooperation and peer to peer democracy. These people don't think small, that's for sure, he thought amused. A vision that actually had lot in common with his own dreams of ending the divisions between the souls that caused endless strife and hurt, but how infinitely far from the methods of power politics and manipulation that he had used in his bid to achieve it. Gendo had always been a peculiar cross between a cynic and an idealist. The cynic in him found it incredibly naive, but the idealist was ready to be convinced. He looked forward to finding out more about the brains behind the project, perhaps make an alliance. But if it ever worked, it would seriously shrink the dark recesses of society that men like himself, Seele and also Peter Kiel hidd in to do their dirty work. After further reflection, Gendo concluded that he was okay with that. In the end it only meant that people would be free to come together on their own accord to create the best place to live that was within their capability. Even if it meant making mistakes, it would be their mistake. His own inability to come to terms with imperfection in himself and others, the tyrannical way in which he and his colleaugues had tried to foisten their closed vision of perfection on humanity had been the root cause of so much sorrow, even his own. The world would in all probability never be perfect but he would learn to deal with it. And when the shrouds of secrecy were finally lifted from his current work, when the light finally drove out the shadows surrounding** him**, he would would be happy to become obsolete. Gendo smiled. This time I will make you proud, Yui, he thought. And I will find a way to make up to our son and to our grandchild. A grandchild that will grow up in a world which's future will be threatened neither by angels nor by the madness of human beings. He wasn't surprised so see Rei's reflection appear besides his own, just as he wasn't surprised to see her gone by the time he turned in her direction. Somehow he knew that she was satisfied with what he had done, at least for the moment. He thought of the dossier about her human life in the drawer of his desk. They would meet again, no doubt. He smile again. Time to do some work. After all, there were many sorry states of affair that could use a touch of Gendo Ikari's special magic.

The End


End file.
